This chapter is back to Ayaka's POV. And we're getting close to the end here people! Just one more chapter to go! Hope you all enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.

Chapter 20- We Did It

(Back to Ayaka's POV)

What's happening? Where am I? Why's it all dark? Why do I feel so tired? These are all the thoughts that's running through my head. I remember that spirit Taraka giving me a kiss on my lips, and then I had become so tired and exhausted, like someone's draining my life away from me. The last sensation I remember feeling is the wings bursting from my back and wrapping around me before being consumed by the cocoon. Then, everything went black.

I hear distant shouts, desperate cries, but then, I hear it.

"AYAKAAAAAAA!" It's Takachin! He's come!

Takachin… "Takachin…" I whisper as a tear rolls down my face. Suddenly, I feel my heart beating faster, and the blood pumping through my veins. I start feeling warm, alive, and the energy slowly starts coming back into my body.

Suddenly, the cocoon dissolves away and the tree suddenly bursts open. I remain afloat in the air for a moment, a white glow surrounding me, before I'm slowly lowered back down onto a large branch. Right then, I feel the wings on my back disintegrating as I suddenly collapse.

My eyes open a few moments later and I'm immediately greeted with the sight of Takachin's smiling face. Small dirt marks streak his face and a trickle of blood runs down the side of his head. He smiles in relief, gently stroking my face. "Ayaka… welcome back…" he whispers.

I smile up at him. "Takachin…" I whisper softly. "I… I thought I was dying. But then… I heard you calling my… my name, and… suddenly… I regained consciousness…" Another tear rolls down my face. "You saved me, Takachin."

"It's okay, Ayaka," he reassures me as he kisses my tear away. "Taraka will never harm you again. I swear, she will never touch you again." He gives me a gentle kiss before picking me up and carrying me over to where Hilda-san and the others are. Oga gently takes me from him, and Takachin starts to climb onto the large bird, when suddenly, we feel the ground shaking.

"Insolent boy!" We turn and see Taraka, surrounded by branches and vines, glaring furiously at Takachin. "You dared to interfere with my plans! Now you will die!" she roars, lunging at him.

"You guys go ahead!" Takachin yells at us before using his spear to cut the oncoming vines and branches. Hilda-san wastes no time in making the bird fly away, but she makes it fly at a safe distance so we can watch the heated fight between Takachin and Taraka.

"He's become so much more vicious in his fighting," Oga muses. "He's not even scared."

"I hope he's okay," I say anxiously. "He risked his own life to save mine, now he's risking it again for all ours."

Hilda-san watches on. "He's becoming a real fighter," she comments. "He's changed quite a bit as well. More mature, more brave, more manly."

Suddenly, we sense a large amount of demonic power. We turn and see Takachin, aiming his two fingers at Taraka, with every member of Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division surrounding him. We all stare in shock at the display of such a large amount of power. "We have to get out of here now," Lamia warns, and Hilda-san obeys.

"Behemotto 34 Chuushidan Naiseikanshou…" Takachin says. The demonic aura surrounds him as a glowing white ball of energy forms at his fingertips. Right then, he opens his eyes. "...CHUUSHIDAN SEIKYO HEIGAKU!" he roars, shooting the ball at Taraka. The ball of energy strikes her, and suddenly, a huge white explosion rocks the earth, destroying both the tree and Taraka completely.

With an ear-splitting screech, Taraka dissolves into nothing. Then, as quick as the explosion happened, the white light suddenly closes in on itself and a bright beam of white light shoots up into the sky. We stare in amazement and awe at the display. Soon, the beam of light fades, and small purple sparkles fall down from the sky, no doubt the remains of the banyan tree.

The large bird lands on the ground and we quickly jump off, looking around for Takachin. "Takachin?" I call.

"Oi, Furuichi! Where are you?!" Oga calls.

Right then, I see him, lying at the remains of the base of the tree, unconscious. "Takachin!" I gasp, running up to him. I gently place my hand on his shoulder. "Takachin, wake up," I say. "The fight's over."

No response.

"Takachin, please," I plead, feeling my heart breaking. "Please wake up." Again, no response. I get a bit more agitated and worried and shake him gently. "Takachin! Wake up, dammit!"

At that, my voice cracks and the tears fall from my eyes. "Please, Takachin," I start to sob. "For my sake… please, please wake up…" My voice trails off into sobs. He's not dead… He's not dead… I think repeatedly as I sob into his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him.

I see Oga, Hilda-san, Berubo, and Lamia lowering their heads sadly, fearing the worst. Ravana also casts his head down, looking solemn. Behemoth and the other Pillar members lower their heads and place an arm over their chest out of respect. "Today, this boy has earned my respect," Jabberwock says solemnly.

"Furuichi's not a boy anymore," Oga says softly. "He's a man."

"Da bu…" Berubo agrees, nodding his head sadly.

"A man who summoned all of us at once, knowing that he would possibly die," Behemoth states.

"Yet he did so to save the life of not only his lover, but the lives of his friends as well," Hecadoth adds. "For doing such a noble thing, he has earned the respect and trust of all of us."

Suddenly, to our shock, we hear the sounds of coughing and soft groans of pain. I look up and see Takachin, wincing slightly. "Never again, am I letting some crazy bitch force the fate of death on you." He gives me a small grin.

At that point, I let out a small laugh through my tears. "You idiot!" I scold, laughing and crying at the same time. "We thought you were dead!" I hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't ever scare me like that ever again!"

I wrap my arms around him in a tight hug, which he returns as we stand up. "Oi, idiot Furuichi," Oga says, punching him in the shoulder, smirking. "If that ever happens again, I'll go to your grave, resurrect you, and beat you up for worrying us."

Takachin chuckles at that. Right then, Hecadoth pats him on the shoulder. "Good job, lieutenant," he praises. "Today, you have earned the respect and trust of all of us."

Ravana bows down in front of Takachin. "I thank you, Furuichi, for destroying the spirit of that cursed Taraka," he thanks. "You have also earned the respect of all the Asuras."

He smiles sincerely before wincing again. "Ow!" he grunts. "I think I seriously injured something."

We walk back to the main grounds of the ruins of Ishiyama, and see everyone else, waiting for us. "Hey guys!" Yuka calls. "How did it go over there?"

"These guys are real pansies," Kanzaki scoffs. "They attack us, then they can't remember anything that happened!"

To try and cover this up, Takachin explains about how they were being brainwashed by someone else who had a grudge against Ishiyama, and used them for his plans. Fortunately, everyone else is convinced.

"Damn! Furuichi, you're a wreck!" Tojo exclaims. "What the hell happened?"

"It's a long story," I reply. "Long story short, Takachin found the guy behind the brainwashing and beat him up. He did it."

"No, we all did it," Takachin says. "I just helped out."

"Idiot!" Oga scolds. "You did a lot, okay? No more putting yourself down!"

The sound of someone clearing their throat calls our attention. We turn and see Ravana, the Great Thirteen, and all the other Asuras standing in front of a portal. Sunda bows again. "We thank you, once again, for helping us break out of our possession. If we ever get over our hatred for humans, we look forward to meeting you all again," he says before they cross through the portal, back to Makai.

"Now let's go back home!" Lamia says. "I need to look at both your injuries."

We go back to my house, where Lamia tends to our injuries. "You two both have exhausted yourselves a lot today," she tells us. "Ayaka was nearly drained of her life energy, and Furuichi nearly died from summoning all of Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division. So, both of you go get some sleep, and I'll make sure to bring back a slice of cake for both of you."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I ask.

Lamia smirks slightly. "Hilda nee-sama's throwing a celebratory party tonight, and everyone's going," she says.

"What?!" I ask, surprised. "Why can't we go?"

"You two are injured, so you two need to rest up!" she sighs, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I already said that I'd bring back some cake for you, so see ya!" she calls, waving as she leaves the house.

"That little…" Takachin grumbles. "Oh well, let's go get some rest."

We walk up to the couch and lie down on it and Takachin pulls me closer so that my head is resting against his chest. As we lie down on the couch, I notice the difference in the amount of bandages we have. Takachin has bandages covering the bridge of his nose, his lower arms, and around his lower torso, as well as both his legs. I have bandages covering my lower arms, my hips, and a small Band-Aid on my cheek. "What about your family?" I ask.

"They've gone to visit my aunt in Nagoya," he tells me. "They won't be back until Sunday night, though."

I close my eyes as he wraps his arms around me. "You're warm, you know that?"

He blushes as I snuggle closer to him. "How're you feeling?" I ask.

Takachin nods. "A bit better," he replies. He lets out a small chuckle. "In a way, I'm kind of glad I'm not going to the party. It's nice to have some peace and quiet for once. Besides, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have lasted long at that party."

I nod. "Yeah, you really took a number on you," I say. "Is it me, or does the entire group seem a lot more friendlier to one another?" I ask.

"Now that I think about it, yeah, they've definitely become a lot closer," he replies. "I think it's a good thing, though. They all know how to get along now."

"Mm," I say. I take Takachin's hand and start tracing the lines on it. "What was it like when you summoned all of Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division?"

"I felt a large amount of power being infused into me," he tells me. "It was a really large amount of power and I could've died, since my body can't handle such amounts of power. However, I was able to handle the power for some reason. It was probably all that training that I had done." He pulls me closer to him. "After Taraka was destroyed, I only heard her screech before I passed out." I feel his hand gently caress my face before slowly bringing my chin up so I can look into his eyes. "However, if I had to do all that to see you smile, to hold you in my arms, to hear your laugh, I'd gladly do it all again."

I smile softly at the sincerity in his words. "Thank you, Takachin," I whisper. However, I can tell he's still pretty angry at what happened, especially how the fate of death was nearly forced onto me today.

I feel him rest his chin on my head and gently run his fingers repeatedly through my hair. "It felt good to have finally earned the respect of Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division as well," he tells me.

"Did you hear what they said while you were unconscious?" I ask. "Oga said that you've become a man today. Everyone said that you had risked your life to not only save my life, but the lives of your friends as well. For that, you've earned everyone's respect, even the respect and gratitude of the Asuras." I smile up at him. "You've come a long way, Takachin. And for that, I'm proud of you."

He smiles at me before kissing me softly. "You know, these kind of nights, just snuggling on the couch with you and having small conversations, I like this," he tells me, giving me a playful kiss on my nose.

We just spend the rest of the evening, in each other's arms on the couch, talking about random things, and just enjoying each other's company. I hold on to Takachin slightly tighter, since I nearly lost him today, and he holds onto me in the same way. At this point, I can't ask for anything more. Because right now, everything is perfect to me.

By the way, the special attack that Furuichi yells out translates to this: 'Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division Intervention: Pillar Division Death Strategy'.